LPP #26 He’s Only Just Begun with Orion Yorke

Today’s guest is Orion Yorke (@orion_yorke on Instagram). At 19, he is officially my youngest guest, to date. But despite his youth – Orion is drawing some serious attention from local PR and marketing teams from well-established professionals and businesses.

He Also produced a series for Greenville Today, called #gvlmade which gave him an opportunity to shoot for 10 additional local businesses.

With his unassuming demeanor it’s hard to peg this guy for your stereotypical millennial. Far from your conventional upbringing, Orion spent the majority of his early childhood in France and was home-schooled from a young age. He finished high school a year early to pursue his creative gift of videography. And just like many creatives, his path wasn’t exactly straight… I picture it more like an abstract art painting.

After having this conversation with him, I am a firm believer that Orion is living his gift. After hearing his story, I have no doubt you will agree that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. He may be young but he is by no means pretentious. He’s dedicated to his craft, grounded in his heart, and lacks the ego of someone with his degree of talent.

At 19 years old, Orion of course is in a very unique position. He is free from the pressures of “adulting” per say; supporting a family, putting food on the table etc…however I encourage you to listen with an open mind. The act of envisioning, creating, and believing you are worthy to share your creation, are not limited to his chapter of life. On a more personal level I’ve become aware of a self-limiting- belief that I have. I think Gandhi addresses this very topic best with the following quote:

I’m by no means fully enlightened, but I think of it like this. This abstract idea of happiness. If happiness were a place, I feel like I’ve finally bought my ticket, and I’ve boarded the train. I believe that I am headed in the direction of joy. I’m deciding for the first time in my life that things don’t have to be difficult. I don’t have to endure suffering as payment to earn my happiness. Nor is happiness something that everyone else seemingly has that I don’t. Simply knowing that I am headed in this direction has opened my mind to receive joy. Our destiny is created by the beliefs we have about ourselves and the world around us. The idea that whatever we want to achieve or create in life we will eventually get, is very much counter-culture thinking. We are conditioned to believe that we don’t deserve to get what we want, that it’s selfish, and ultimately unattainable (which keeps our commercial economy humming happily). I found this conversation incredibly refreshing, it brought me back to that child like sense of wonder and possibility, which I think we need re-kindled every once in awhile. Orion’s story is a testament to that inner spark, he reminds us that it’s okay to let your imagination run wild.